That could be the bill for renovating the north, with half going on the ‘ghost city’ of Famagusta
By Alex Mita
IT COULD cost an estimated 20 billion euros to renovate the north in the event of a solution, with half of that going to rebuild the abandoned coastal resort of Famagusta and the suburb of Varosha.
The Cyprus Mail has learned through a reliable source that the Town Planning Authority is studying possible scenarios for reconstruction or renovation, in case of a settlement to the Cyprus problem.
“I can tell you that there is a preliminary plan where the government is studying possible scenarios on how to rebuild Famagusta in case of a solution,” the source said.
“The first scenario is just to renovate the existing buildings in Famagusta, while other scenarios include renovating all the houses and building the entire seaside front from scratch.” The third option is to demolish and build the entire city from scratch.
“In the case of the third scenario they are thinking of building a city of the future,” the source said. “Famagusta is a ghost town and the cost of renovating it would exceed the cost of rebuilding it. So they are seriously considering rebuilding the whole city from scratch, including the sewage system, roads and creating a sample city for the European Union.”
The source said that the EU had been in close contact with the Town Planning Authority. It is thought that the project would be partly funded by the EU, while foreign and Greek contractors have shown great interest in undertaking the massive project. “The cost for a complete reconstruction of the city in a period of up to twenty years is estimated to be in the region of 10 billion euros,” said the source, “while the cost of renovating the north including Famagusta is estimated to be in the region of 20 billion euro.”
The source revealed that the government had studied the issue so thoroughly that they have even discussed how to get rid of the rubble created from razing Famagusta to the ground. “The government is considering dumping the waste into abandoned mines owned by the Church that would have to be returned to their original geomorphic state before they were dug up.
“Another idea is to dump the rubble into the sea to create a small island, the same way Lebanon created a small island from rubble as they reconstructed Beirut, after the war.”
Both the Communications and Interior Ministries have denied knowledge of any plans to rebuild Famagusta. But, speaking to the Cyprus Mail yesterday, Electricity Authority spokesman Tassos Roussos said the EAC had been studying the issue for a number of years and an estimate had been presented on the cost of restructuring the electricity network.
“Based on knowledge of what we left behind in 1974, we have an estimate of what the cost would probably be for rebuilding the entire electricity network in Famagusta,” he said. “In order to reach a possible estimate we have to take some things into consideration, for example what the function of the city of Famagusta would be.
“If the city is intended for tourism the demand for electricity would be immense. Taking all these factors into consideration we have come with up with a figure of £30-40 million.
“However, we still don’t know what will happen in the case of a possible solution. We don’t know how the electricity authority will function. Will it be our responsibility or will the authority be under Turkish Cypriot control?”
Roussos said the EAC had to consider the state of the network today. “The old systems are probably obsolete,” he said. “The electric system in Famagusta would have to be built from scratch, because the cost of repairing the old system would be more than rebuilding it. You also have to consider the fact that it will take many years for the city to be reconstructed.”
An expert from construction giant Cybarco told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that, theoretically, many buildings have suffered because of the salty air and years of neglect.
“I believe that many of the buildings in Famagusta would have to be torn down,” Kypros Gregoriou said. “Studies have to be carried, especially on buildings on the sea front.”
Gregoriou said that years of neglect have probably damaged the buildings beyond repair. “If you consider that the life of cement buildings is up to 60 years if they are inhabited and repaired, you can imagine the state some of the buildings in Famagusta would be in,” he said.
Gregoriou said the cost of rebuilding the city would be astronomical. “If you consider the population of Famagusta in 1974 then over 20,000 housing units would have to be built for the residents,” he said. “And if you think that the cost of the sewage system of the city at the time was £1 million, imagine what it would be today.”
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
